Where The Compass Points
by silverliningineachcloud
Summary: Little Skye's adventures on the Bus with her new family. One-shot collection, continuation of The Compass That Guides Us. T for possible swearing and mentions of abuse
1. School Time

**_This story is a continuation of The Compass that Guides Us in oneshots._**

 ** _You don't neccesarily have to read it before enjoying these, but here's the basic premise: Little Skye (5yo) lives on the Bus with May, Phil, Tripp, Bobbi, Hunter, Fitz, and Simmons. She got there after May and Coulson posed as her foster parents while protecting her, subsequently fell in love, Skye got captured, they saved her with the team, and they all ended up on the Bus. There is also a Bad Word Jar._**

 ** _So here's the first oneshot!_**

 _ **Thanks for the prompt from Guest! Here's what he/she suggested:**_ May and Coulson realize that Skye should probably start school and ask Fitzsimmons to home school her because they're a little busy. Problem is Fitzsimmons are too enthusiastic and try teaching her super advanced stuff and Skye's confused because she can't even add yet. Bobbi comes in, starts Skye off on a lesson in one of the grade appropriate school books, and its decided that Bobbi should take over her schooling for now.

 _ **I had a lot of fun writing this :) Can't wait to get started on another one shot!**_

 _ **Skye's Teacher**_

"What does geenurohs mean?"

Phil looked up to see that Skye was staring studiously at the back of the cheerios box.

"That's not a word, dear," Jemma chirped, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"It says so right here!" Skye protested, pointing at the box.

Hunter looked at the box with bleary red eyes, cradling his coffee like a precious jewel in his hands.

"That says _generous_ love."

"It's like when someone is very giving. Like if Hunter gave me his coffee, that would be very generous," Bobbi remarked, picking up Hunter's coffee cup and taking a sip.

Hunter uttered a very rude word and Skye pushed the Bad Word Jar in his direction.

"Can I have some coffee?" Skye got down from her chair and scrambled up into Phil's lap.

"No, coffee is only for grown ups. I don't think you'd like it anyways."

"You're not being very generous," Skye pouted, trying out her new word.

"You can have a sip," Phil couldn't suppress his smile.

Skye eagerly took a sip and immediately made a face.

"Eww! Grownups are weird!"

"You've got that right, girl," Tripp chuckled.

"I, for one, prefer tea," Jemma spoke up.

Phil was already thinking about something, focused on Skye's first question. He had no idea how the little girl knew how to sound out words, but it was clear she was ready for more schooling. It was about a month after they had rescued Skye from the lab, and they had been so focused on healing and sorting out their life in the Bus that they had totally forgotten about schooling for Skye.

He made a mental note to talk with May about it that night.

* * *

"Should we start giving Skye more schooling?" Phil wondered to May.

They were sitting on the couch. They had a rare evening to relax, having just wrapped up an investigation.

May blinked.

"Do you think she's ready?"

Healing took a long time, and Skye was no exception. She still got into their bed with nightmares almost every night.

"It might be good for her," Phil suggested.

"Alright," May agreed. "Maybe we could ask someone else to help?"

"Absolutely!"

Phil and May looked up to see Jemma clasping her hands in front of them, Fitz at her side.

"We would love to teach her," Fitz agreed.

"She's definitely very intelligent, we can come up with some exercise- oh! We can use the Bunsen burner I got her!"

"And I can teach her about the gadgets…"  
"Fitzsimmons!" Phil interrupted. "Skye's five. I was thinking more like letter sounds and reading and maybe some basic math?"

"Oh of course," Jemma nodded vigorously, brown eyes bright.

"We will come up with the perfect curriculum," Fitz assured them.

"Alright…" May looked at Phil dubiously. "Want to start tomorrow?"  
"Yes!" Jemma squealed and Fitz was practically jumping up and down. "I'll just write out some theorums and… oh flash cards…"

Phil and May watched as the two scientists swept out of the room.

"Are we going to regret this?" Coulson looked at May.

"Probably," May said dryly.

* * *

Skye sat perched on a stool, dark hair pulled back by a plaid headband with a bow on top, wearing a navy skirt and a white shirt with a ninja cat on it.

"Let's start with math," Fitz and Jemma beamed at her.

"Alright, one plus one is two. Let's really quickly look at why. Russell and Whitehead wrote on the subject extensively, but we're going to boil it down to a simple theorem." Jemma pointed at Fitz who flipped the whiteboard.

The proof starts from the Peano Postulates, which define the natural

numbers N.

N is the smallest set satisfying these postulates:

P1. 1 is in N. P2. If x is in N, then its "successor" x' is in N. P3. There is no x such that x' = 1. P4. If x isn't 1, then there is a y in N such that y' = x. P5. If S is a subset of N, 1 is in S, and the implication (x in S = x' in S) holds, then S = N. Then you have to define addition recursively: Def: Let a and b be in N. If b = 1, then define a + b = a' (using P1 and P2). If b isn't 1, then let c' = b, with c in N (using P4), and define a + b = (a + c)'. Then you have to define 2: Def: 2 = 1' 2 is in N by P1, P2, and the definition of 2. Theorem: 1 + 1 = 2 Proof: Use the first part of the definition of + with a = b = 1. Then 1 + 1 = 1' = 2 Q.E.D. Note: There is an alternate formulation of the Peano Postulates which replaces 1 with 0 in P1, P3, P4, and P5. Then you have to change the definition of addition to this: Def: Let a and b be in N. If b = 0, then define a + b = a. If b isn't 0, then let c' = b, with c in N, and define a + b = (a + c)'. You also have to define 1 = 0', and 2 = 1'. Then the proof of the Theorem above is a little different: Proof: Use the second part of the definition of + first: 1 + 1 = (1 + 0)' Now use the first part of the definition of + on the sum in parentheses: 1 + 1 = (1)' = 1' = 2 Q.E.D.

"Let's go over it step by step," Fitz cleared his throat. "First, we define N…"

Skye stared at the board with a partially open mouth as Fitz and Simmons took turns talking.

"And it's as simple as that! Alright Skye, your turn, what does 1+1 equal?" Jemma finally turned to Skye with a wide smile.

Skye just stared at her, brown eyes wide.

"How's it going…. Whoa." Bobbi walked into the room then stopped, taking in the whiteboard.

"We're just working on the basics to start with," Fitz explained.

"It looks like the basics of getting a PhD, not kindergarten," Bobbi gave them a confused look, lifting Skye down from the stool she had been sitting on. "I was just stopping in because I found these addition sheets I thought you could use and printed them off the internet…" Bobbi held up a couple pages, the first one with little pictures of butterflies and caterpillars.

"Ooooh butterflies!" Skye jumped up excitedly. "Can I color them in?"

"Let's take a look at the questions first." Bobbi instinctually got down on ground level with Skye. "Do you know your numbers yet?"

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!" Skye counted proudly. "I can say even more, want me to keep going?"

"Sure!" Bobbi listened as Skye counted up to 100, making a couple mistakes and missing numbers here and there.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Bobbi said enthusiastically. "Can you write them?"

"Most of them," Skye said proudly. "Wanna see?"

Jemma cleared her throat and both Skye and Bobbi looked up.

"Maybe… maybe Bobbi should take charge for now," Fitz said hesitantly, Jemma nodding.

"I think we might get a little carried away," Jemma bit her lip. "It might be for the best if you did it, Bobbi."

Bobbi and Skye exchanged a look, before looking up at the two young scientists.

"That sounds like a good idea."

* * *

 ** _Credits for the proof:_** Doctor Rob, The Math Forum /

 ** _Keep sending me prompts, I love them! :)_**

 ** _Also, can you imagine little Skye in that outfit I described? She would be literally the cutest thing ever._**

 ** _Next up: Skye and Hunter get into trouble_**


	2. Hunter And Skye Get Into Trouble

_**Sorry it's late! Hope you like it :) I wanted to have fun with Hunter and Skye!**_

 _ **I'm always excited to hear your oneshot ideas!**_

 _ **I'll try to get the next one up sooner!**_

* * *

"I'm bored." Skye was partially on her head and partially on the couch.  
"Skye, you're going to give yourself a headache," May commented. "And you need to strap in because we're going to descend soon."

Skye pulled herself into an upright position and obediently reached for the straps, May moving forward to help her.

"I'm bored too." Hunter gave May a grumpy look. The Englishman had been hoping to go on the mission that was about to take place rather than be put on babysitting duty.

"You're where we need you," May frowned at him.

"We can have our own mission, Lance," Skye chirped and Hunter immediately felt guilty over not wanting to be with the little girl. That wasn't it. He really loved Skye. He just wanted to help his team on this mission. They were investigating a claim of an alien artifact in an unstable country.

"Alright. I have just the mission for us. But we can't discuss it with this low ranking officer here," Hunter made a motion towards May.

"Oh really?" May's eyebrows shot up. Skye giggled.

"Mommy outranks you, Hunter," Skye laughed.

"How does she know that?" Hunter glanced at May who gave him a slightly smug smile.

"Because she says I have to listen to what she says an' not what you say cause she outranks you!" Skye beamed. "Right Mommy?"

"Mhmm." May kissed Skye's forehead while Hunter pouted.

"Where are we?" Skye peered out of the window at the desert landscape.

"Some desert somewhere," Hunter grunted, busy checking the plane system to make sure everything was secure until the team came back.

"Can we build a sandcastle?" Skye asked, tugging on his shirt, looking up at him with huge brown eyes.

"I'm sorry darling, it's not safe outside." He could barely say no to those huge eyes. "But what about our mission? We still have to complete it!" He quickly changed gears.

"Oh yeah!" Skye's eyes lit up. "We have to recover our own artifact!"

"Right."

"Let me get into uniform." Skye ran into her room and came out a bit later wearing a black shirt, black leggings, a blue tutu, and holding a Captain America shield.

"You look very tough."

"I know." Skye jumped onto the couch.

"So what's this artifact we're getting?" Hunter paused to glance at his phone.

He quickly read the text from Bobbi _"So far so good_ " and then pocketed his phone.

"It… it turns people into candy!" Skye's eyes widened.

"That sounds delicious."

"No, you would get eaten!" Skye gave him an astonished look. She ran into the kitchen, Hunter close behind.

"That's it." Skye whispered, crouching by the counter and pointing to the sugar jar.

"Okay. So how do we get rid of it?"

"We need Captain America's motorcycle."

* * *

"It's right there!"

Skye and Hunter peered into the window of the red car to stare at the little antique toy replica motorcycle lying on the foot space floor of the passenger's seat.

"I can't reach it." Hunter tried stretching his arm out over the window. Technically, he could climb over or open the door but Hunter was sure as hell not going to touch Coulson's precious car more than he had to. "I'm going to lift you." He picked up Skye and hoisted her over the window. On tiny hand stretched out to grab the motorcycle, fingers brushing it….

Hunter's phone screeched, violently breaking the silence of the hangar. Both Hunter and Skye jumped, Skye falling from Hunter's grasp and into the car.

"Security breach," Hunter gasped, glancing at the alarm from his cell phone. "Skye!"

"I'm okay!" Skye had turned herself right side up, curled up in the little space of the passenger seat foot space.

Hunter pulled out his gun as there was a banging sound.

"Love, stay down there."

Slowly Lance crept forward right as the door lurched open.

"Lance you idiot, why weren't you answering our calls to open the damn door?" Bobbi sprang forward and smacked him.

"I… I forgot my phone on the kitchen table…" Hunter stammered, eyes darting to where Lola was parked.

He was so dead.

"Where's Skye?" May brushed past Bobbi.

"The thing is…"  
"Hunter!" Coulson had that Don't-Mess-With-Me-This-Time look on his face.

At that moment there was a loud snapping sound from the inside of Lola.

"What was that?"

Coulson was already sprinting to the car, stopping dead in his tracks as he peered into the car, two brown eyes staring back at him.

Skye guiltily held out the Captain America Vintage Motorcycle Figurine for Coulson to see.

It was broken into two pieces.  
In addition, there seemed to be chocolate smeared all over Lola's seat and Skye's face.

"I found a chocolate bar," Skye admitted.

A muscle in Phil's cheek twitched, his blue eyes not leaving Lola's formerly pristine black seat and the two pieces of the extremely rare Captain America toy clutched in Skye's hands.

May leaned forward and picked Skye up, pulling her out of the car.

"I'm sorry, Daddy."

Hunter began slowly inching away, Bobbi gracing him with a look of sympathy and a pointed look at the door.

"Are you upset?" Skye's dark eyes welled up with tears as she took in the look of shock on Phil's face. "I'm sorry! It was an accident. Please don't be mad at me!"

Coulson jerked out of his unresponsive state, turning quickly to Skye.

"I'm a little upset but it's okay Skye. I forgive you. Please don't cry, honey. You didn't mean to do anything bad."

"Do you still love me?" Skye sniffed.

Coulson took her into his arms, kissing her cheek and her nose and her forehead. "Nothing you do can make me not love you."

"I love you, Daddy," Skye kissed his cheek. "I'm really really sorry. I have some money, we could get a new motorcycle!" Skye's face brightened.

Coulson smiled slightly as he thought about the little jar of coins Skye hoarded; touched his little girl would be willing to give it up for him.

"You know what, I don't need another one. All I need is you." Phil stroked Skye's hair.

At this point, Hunter had successfully made his way to the door without being noticed by Coulson.

He tried to open the door silently but it made a clinking noise.

"LANCE HUNTER!"

Coulson handed Skye to May before racing after the younger man.

"Sorry, couldn't hear what you said!" Hunter shouted, tearing up the stairs and through the kitchen.

"Get here right now!"

"You forgave Skye!" Hunter desperately jumped over a couch and scrambled down another set of stairs.

"She's five and didn't know what she was doing!"

"I didn't know what I was doing!"

Hunter slid into a storage closet and dead bolted it, stepping back as Phil pounded on the door.

"Get out here right now Lance Hunter!"  
"Eh, I'd rather not."

* * *

"Skye, what did I tell you about feeding the fugitive?" Phil glanced at Skye, who was in the process of slipping a cookie under the door of the room Hunter had locked himself into.

"Oops, I forgot." Skye looked up guiltily.

"Thanks dear. Any chance you can get some beer in here?" Hunter's voice was slightly muffled behind the door.

Skye looked at Coulson questioningly.

"Daddy doesn't look happy about that question," she informed Hunter under the door.

"I damn well bet he doesn't."

"BAD WORD JAR!" Coulson barked.

Hunter slid a dollar out under the door.

* * *

 _ **Hope you liked it :) I'll pick the next prompt from one of the reviews!**_


	3. As Long As Your Heart Beats

_**OMG IT HAS BEEN SO LONG ARE YOU EVEN STILL THERE READERS? AM I EVEN STILL HERE? IS THE WORLD STILL SPINNING?**_

 _ **Sorry, I drank caffeine today, never a good idea.**_

 _ **Anyways.**_

 _ **I am SO sorry for how late this is. You all are far more amazing than I deserve. Hopefully this chapter will bring some small happiness. Several people suggested Skye throw a temper tantrum. Things went crazy from there.**_

 _ **Also, totally send me prompts because I will take them!**_

 _ **I do not own Agents of Shield. That would be sweet though.**_

* * *

"Good morning sweetheart," Phil glanced at his little girl as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

He turned around after a moment, keenly aware of the lack of response.

Skye was drooped against the table, swirling her cereal around in her milk in a little mini whirlpool. May had left to pilot and Fitzsimmons were already in the lab, while Bobbi, Lance, and Tripp were finishing up their morning training.

"Are you feeling okay?" Phil sat down beside the five-year-old, examining her concernedly.

"Yeah." Skye's little face was folded into a deep pout.

"Do you want to talk about what's going on?" Phil asked carefully. Skye shook her head, brow furrowing. "Alright. Well, you can always tell me if you change your mind later."  
"I'm done." Skye pushed her bowl away and jumped off her chair.

"Okay, but please take your bowl to the sink like usual, sweetie." Phil gently stopped her from running out of the kitchen.

"No."

Phil's eyebrows rose as he locked eye contact with two very defiant and angry brown eyes.

What was going on? He couldn't think of anything recent that had triggered Skye.

"Skye, I am hearing that maybe you are frustrated?"  
No response.

"Even when we are having a hard day, it's important to still help and keep our responsibilities," Phil tried again.

"No!" Skye crossed her arms. "I don't want to!"

"Skye…" Phil's voice became firmer.

"NO!" Skye screamed, slamming her bowl down against the table, the kitchenware catching the edge of the table and crashing onto the ground, sending ceramic pieces, milk, and soggy cereal everywhere.

For one split moment Phil caught Skye's gaze, her brown eyes wide and scared. Then the little girl turned and ran.

* * *

When Skye had woken up that morning, she had known it was not going to be a good day.

She knew because she had a bad dream right before morning time and remembered something she hadn't thought about in a long time.

For some reason, she had remembered the Graysons, one of her earlier foster families. She had thought that everything was really good when one day they just decided they didn't want her anymore.

She wasn't sure what it was but she must have done _something_. And then she had started thinking about what if Phil and May changed their minds about being her mommy and daddy.

And then she had known that it was really going to be a bad day.

So when Daddy had asked her to clean up, Skye decided to do something she never decided to do. She decided to be bad.

She didn't really know why, except that she was upset and overwhelmed and suddenly so so angry and she wanted to know if May and Phil would get rid of her if she was bad.

But when the bowl hit the ground, Skye knew she had gone too far.

So she ran.

Curled up on the seat of one of the cars that were in the hanger of the Bus, Skye reflected on the fact that she really was a bad girl.

The first tear ran down her nose and plopped onto the black leather seat. The second one rolled down her cheek and clung to her chin.

She had ruined everything because she was bad.

Skye curled further in on herself.

There was a sudden knocking on door of the car, causing her to start violently.

"Can I come in, kiddo?"

Tripp was peering into the car, looking genuinely concerned.

Slowly Skye nodded, wiping her eyes roughly and sniffing.

"Your mom and dad are pretty worried. They are looking everywhere for you," Tripp commented, sliding into the backseat beside her. "What's going on, girlie?"

Skye bit her lip, looking down.

"I was really bad," she finally admitted. "I'm bad." _They won't want me anymore._ Those thoughts were so scary she couldn't even say it aloud.

"Hmm." Tripp looked like he was thinking hard and Skye tilted her head slightly so she could look at his face. "People like to tell others that they're bad. But the thing is, we all have goodness in here," Tripp said, touching his chest. "That goodness can get mixed up with fear and anger and other feelings, but it doesn't make you _bad_." Tripp turned to look directly at her, dark eyes gentle. "You're not bad, Skye. I know that, your mom and dad know that, we all know it. And I want _you_ to know that. You are good, Skye. Even when you make a mistake, or get really angry, or do something you're not supposed to, you are still good."

Skye considered that for a moment. "I don't feel like I am good," she sniffed.

Tripp smiled slightly. "I'll show you how you can feel it." The agent gently placed Skye's hand on her chest. "Can you feel your heart beating?" he asked. Skye nodded, wiping away her tears with her spare hand, focusing on the subtle thump underneath her right hand. "Every time your heart beats, it's spreading that goodness throughout your whole body and telling you that you are loved."

Skye closed her eyes, for a moment letting the rhythm of her heart fill her ears.

Finally she opened her eyes again and grabbed Tripp's hand.

"I need to go see my mommy and daddy," she told him, pulling him out of the car.

* * *

"Did you yell at her?" May's voice was tight, her brown eyes hard with worry.

"No, I…" Phil faltered. "I don't know what I did wrong…"

They had searched the whole bus without finding Skye. It had been almost half an hour since the little girl had run away from him, and the whole time Phil had felt like he couldn't breathe. All he could see in his head were Skye's dark eyes, staring at him with fear and pain.

He knew that May didn't mean to hurt him with her words; she was just worried. But he couldn't stop the guilt that washed over him.

"Daddy."

Phil spun around. Skye was running towards him, Tripp trailing slightly behind.

"Skye!" He was scared to make the first move, but when she rushed into his arms, he captured her against himself, kissing the top of her head. "Sweetheart, you scared us!"

"Daddy, I'm sorry," Skye looked up at him. "I'm sorry I got angry and ran away."

"Thank you for apologizing Skye." Phil let her out of his arms so he could see her better. "Can we talk about what happened?"

Skye glanced back at Tripp, who nodded encouragingly. Phil reminded himself to thank the agent later, as well as figure out where he had found her and how he had gotten Skye to come back to them.

"I…" Skye faltered. "I was scared."

"What were you scared of?" Mel asked, sitting with them on the floor. Skye quickly leaned against the woman, playing with her shirt sleeve.

"I got angry. And then I was scared because I was bad and…" Skye stopped and hid her face in Melinda's shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay," Melinda gently drew her closer. "You were scared because you were bad?"

"Yeah because maybe you wouldn't want me anymore, like the Graysons." By the end of her statement, Skye's voice had lowered to a whisper.

"Skye." Phil waited until her brown eyes found his blue ones. He needed her to know how serious he was. "Nothing you do will make us not want you."

Skye looked at him and then launched herself at him, burying her face in his chest.

"You're stuck with us, kiddo," Phil whispered into her ear.

After a moment, he lifted her up to her feet. "You can always tell us how you are feeling. You don't need to break things or run away, Skye."

"I'm sorry," Skye's face flushed and she guiltily bit her lip.

"It's okay Skye. But there are consequences when we make mistakes."

Skye's eyes widened slightly and Phil hastened to finish his sentence. "How about you clean up the mess in the kitchen while I make you some new breakfast?" Phil suggested. "We already picked up the broken bowl because we didn't want anybody to get hurt by the pieces. Does that seem like a fair consequence?"

Skye nodded emphatically. "I can clean the whole kitchen!" she offered, wriggling down from his arms to the ground.

"That might be going a little overboard," Phil laughed but caught his little girl's hand before she could rush into the kitchen. "I want you to know that you aren't bad, even when you make mistakes, okay? I love you so much, Skye." he told her as he kissed her forehead.

Skye placed her hand on her chest, was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"I can feel that, Daddy."

* * *

 _ **What did you think?**_

 ** _Hopefully this wasn't too cheesy and idk if those are the right things to tell a child, but I figured Skye's situation is pretty special._**

 ** _This was pretty heavy Skye/DaddyPhil focused, but send me a prompt with May and I can do something there too! Or with the rest of the crew :)_**

 ** _Leave a review, even if it's just to tell me that you hate me! I want to hear from you all!  
_**

 ** _xoxo_**


	4. Sick In Your Arms

_**Hey all! Thanks for the beautiful reviews and suggestions and sticking with me when I DEFINITELY didn't deserve it. You all are the real champs.**_

 _ **Here's the next chapter! Inspired by a prompt by a guest who suggested "a**_ _ **chapter where Skye gets sick and gets clingy with May." Since we just had a lot of Daddy Phil last time, I figured we all deserve some Mommy May time!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHEILD. Sadly. Because if I did there would be way more May-Daisy moments**_

* * *

"Skye, it's time to wake up."

Skye slowly opened her eyes, trying to peel back the layers of tiredness that were holding her down. Swallowing, she became painfully aware of the roughness of her throat.

Uh oh.

Parents did _not_ like it when kids got sick. Skye knew that very well. At one foster home, they had locked her in the basement because they hadn't wanted any of the other kids to get sick. All Skye could remember was being cold, scared, and miserable. Ever since then, Skye had always hid any signs of sickness.

Mommy and Daddy were different, Skye knew that. But something deep down inside of her was still scared.

"Skye?" May was approaching the bed. "Are you okay?"

Skye had to decide what to do.  
"Yeah." Skye winced at the scratchiness of her throat. "I'm fine!" She gave May her best and biggest smile, but the older woman didn't look convinced.

"Alright…" Melinda eyed her suspiciously but helped her get dressed without pushing the topic.

* * *

May watched Skye eat her breakfast with a sense of concern.

The little girl could barely get through two bites of cereal, yet she still sat at the table, struggling to appear as though nothing was wrong.

"Hello kiddo," Hunter meandered through the kitchen, blearily seeking coffee, almost running into Simmons who was reading a book while drinking her tea.

May watched as Skye offered Hunter a rather pitiful smile, her worry growing.

"Skye, sweetheart, Bobbi has to prepare for a mission today, so she's asked me to do your lessons today," Simmons beamed, putting down her book. "She's given me a _very_ specific lesson plan."

Skye's brown eyes barely lit up, even though May knew the girl would usually be ecstatic to spend more time with the young woman who was her hero.

As Skye quickly wiped at her eyes before her face went blank once more, Melinda made her decision.

Enough was enough.

"Skye, love, are you feeling okay?" May moved forward purposefully.

The reaction was instantaneous. Skye's face paled and she skittered out of her chair, dark hair falling into her face.

"I'm fine!"

This time May caught the rough edge to her daughter's voice. She focused back on Skye and quickly noted her flushed face and small mouth set in a grimace, as though she was in pain.

"Skye…"

Although the small girl was doing so much better, she still sometimes reacted badly to physical touch, so May was hesitant to take the small girl into her arms the way she deeply desired to.

Instead she knelt down, making eye contact.  
"Skye, can I feel your forehead? I'm worried you might be sick."

Skye shook her head, crossing her arms.

"I'm not sick," she rasped. Melinda could see the tears shining in her eyes.

"Love, why are you scared to tell me that you don't feel well?" May asked carefully. "I can see that you're sick."

May thought that Skye might deny it once again when the five-year-old burst into tears.

This time, the older agent pulled Skye into her embrace. The girl clung to her as if she were afraid that she would be ripped away.

May carried her daughter back to her bedroom, hoping the comfort of her room would calm her, yet the girl's body was physically shaking as she cried. However, as May stroked her dark silky hair and murmured into her ear, Skye's sobs slowly abated.

"Can you tell me how you're feeling?" Melinda was starting to feel worried that Skye was seriously sick or injured in some other capacity.

"I…" Skye took a ragged breath. "I…" She started crying again to May's dismay.

"What is it, love?" Melinda peered into her little girl's eyes concernedly, rubbing slow circles on her back.

"I… I don't… I don't want to…" Skye's speech was punctuated with sniffles and hiccups.

"What is it that you don't want? You're safe here." May found herself stumbling for words, feeling hopelessly inadequate. She wanted to be the mother that Skye deserved; yet it was moments like these that reminded her how little experience she actually had.

"I don't wanna be alone," Skye finally managed, hiding her face in May's shoulder.

Now Melinda was at a loss for words. She wasn't sure what was going on in Skye's head but for some reason the little girl felt that if she was sick then she would be alone.

And then suddenly May had a suspicion she knew why Skye was upset.

"Love, did something bad happen at one of your old houses when you were sick?"

Skye nodded, face still buried in her shoulder.

"I had to go to the basement," she mumbled into the fabric of May's jacket.

Fiery anger burned in Melinda's chest as she pulled Skye closer, as if she could protect the girl from things that had already happened. _How could anybody do that to a child?_

"I am so sorry. You are safe now. You're safe."

* * *

Skye couldn't help but relaxing in May's strong embrace.

She was safe now.

The realization made her snuggle closer to her mom, relishing her warmth and the feeling of being held.

May shifted her and Skye voiced her displeasure with a whimper, clinging to the older woman.

"Skye, I need to see how sick you are. Can you tell me how you feel?" However Melinda didn't try to pull her away again.

"My throat hurts lots," Skye whispered, pressing her face against her mom's jacket, the familiar scent calming her. "An' my head hurts an' my body feels like a rock." She was suddenly aware of how heavy she felt.

May gave a sympathetic murmur.

"How about you get into bed while I go get Jemma to come take a look at you?"

"No!" Skye frantically grabbed a fistful of May's shirt, wrapping her legs around the woman's waist so there was no way she could be dislodged.

"Skye, I'll be right back…"

However Skye was determined not to be removed. She snuggled closer to her mom as May gave up and carried her with her. A feeling of warm satisfaction bloomed in her chest, overcoming even the pain in her throat and the pounding of her head.

Skye rested her head on her mom's shoulder, one hand fastened around a strand of May's silky hair. As exhaustion overwhelmed her, Skye allowed her heavy eyelids to fall shut, satisfied that she was safe in May's arms.

* * *

 _ **Do you want more from this scene? Because I'm thinking about making a part 2... If so, I would have it up by the end of this week. What do you think?  
Keep sending me prompts :)**_

 _ **What did you think?**_


	5. I'll Be Here

_**Sorry it's later than I'd like...**_

 _ **Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for many things, but one is all of you wonderful readers and reviewers :)**_

 _ **Sorry this is shorter than usual - life got crazy crazy and I lost inspiration :/**_

 _ **As always, send me prompts!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of SHEILD**_

 _ **Duh. If I did, there would be so many more Skye-May and Skye-Jemma moments.**_

* * *

"Looks like the poor dear fell asleep."

Simmons' comment caused May to reexamine the girl in her arms.

The young doctor was correct; Skye had fallen fast asleep on her shoulder.

"I'll put her in bed," May decided. She had sought out Simmons to look at the five-year-old, but apparently Skye had fallen asleep during even that very small amount of time.

Once again, she made her way back to Skye's bedroom, Simmons trailing behind her.

However the moment May went to put the limp girl down onto her bed, Skye became an instant monkey. May couldn't help but be impressed by the strength of the tiny girl – trying to put her down was like trying to detach an octopus.

"Don't leave me," Skye whimpered.

May felt as if her heart was breaking.

"I'm not going to leave you."

With a feverish five-year-old that refused to let go of her but desperately needed rest, May did the only thing she could think of. She got into the bed with Skye.

"Let's let Dr. Simmons look you over, okay?" May sat up and pulled Skye onto her lap.

By the time Jemma was done looking over Skye, the little girl was practically asleep again.

"Strep throat, I believe," Jemma finally put away her tools. "Of course, I'm not exactly fully trained in pediatrics."

"We should get her some medication, right?" May helped ease the sleepy Skye under the covers.

"Yes, although I'm not sure if SHEILD has any children's medicine on hand…" Jemma mused.

"I'll talk to Phil," May moved to get off the bed.

"NO!"

May spun around to see that Skye was sitting up in the bed, dark eyes wild.

"Don't leave me here! I want my mommy!" Skye began crying hysterically. "Please, don't hurt me!"

"Skye, I'm right here." Melinda rushed to her daughter's side, instantly alarmed when Skye continued sobbing and refused to look at her. "What is happening?

"She might be having a fever induced hallucination," Jemma said worriedly.

"Hey, Skye, look at me." May carefully touched the girl's arm.

Skye jumped, looking straight at Melinda with large confused eyes.

"Mommy."

When Skye reattached herself, May instantly got back into the bed with the five-year old.

As she held her daughter close, stroking her hair as the sobs slowly abated, Melinda got comfortable and prepared to stay as long as necessary.

* * *

 **3 days later**

Phil carefully turned the knob of Skye's room, trying to be as quiet as possible in case Skye was asleep.  
The little girl had been falling in and out of consciousness for the past two days, many times waking up hallucinating and screaming. After the first incident, May hadn't left her side, rocking the five-year-old as she relived her time in the lab and events in past foster homes.

Slowly moving into the room, Phil stepped closer to the bed, peering into the pile of blankets and stuffed animals that he presumed to be his daughter.

Skye's face was peaceful, her long eyelashes resting against her cheeks. She looked

Curled around the small girl was the slender form of Melinda May, fast asleep.

Phil smiled, gazing down on his two girls and admired how beautiful they both were.

Not that Melinda would appreciate that – she would kick his butt if he ever shared that thought. Her motherly side, that nobody had known she had, was exclusively for Skye and Skye alone.

Phil couldn't care less. He had his girls, and his girls had each other and him.

Gently he pulled the blanket up further over Skye and May.

He would be back later to check on them again.  
For now, they would be just fine.

* * *

"May?"

Melinda blinked groggily, Phil's face coming into focus in front of her.

Hold on.

She sat up quickly, turning to find that Skye was still asleep next to her. May realized she must have fallen asleep while with her daughter.

Skye had been sick for a couple days and in those days, had next to refused to let May out of her sight, falling into hysterics. So May had simply accepted the fact that this was where Skye needed her, so she would be there.

"You fell asleep." Phil whispered.

Melinda was caught off guard. She never took naps and she usually didn't even need much sleep during the night, even though she had been staying with Skye all hours lately. When she felt tired, she usually did tai chi and felt refreshed.

As she moved slightly, she realized that her body felt heavier than usual.

Oh shit.

Slowly May swallowed and her heart sank at the gravelly pain that accompanied the action.

"I'm sick."

As soon as she said it, she knew it was true, because her voice sounded like sandpaper.

Phil's mouth fell open.

"You're sick?"

May felt an irrational urge to smack his dumbfounded face. So she had never been sick in his presence before and they had known each other for a _long_ time, but that didn't mean she wasn't human…

"Shut your mouth and don't look so surprised," she growled.

"Are you sure?" Phil still looked like he had seen a ghost.

" _Yes_."

Beside her, Skye stirred.

"Mommy," she murmured, a small hand finding Melinda's hair.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" May ignored the slight rasp that caught in her throat.

"Better." Skye sat up and Melinda reached to smooth the little girl's hair, noting that Skye's skin felt cooler than usual. Tilting her daughter's face towards her, she was satisfied that the unhealthy flush that had been residing in Skye's cheeks had left.

It looked like the antibiotics were finally flushing out the last of the sickness.  
"Looks like you're getting better just in time for your mommy to get sick," Phil noted, sitting on the bed.

"Mommy?" Skye turned towards May with a questioning look. "You're sick?"

May shot Phil a dirty look then reluctantly nodded.

"Yep, I think I am, Skye," she cracked a smile. "Guess that's what happens, huh?"

Skye looked at her solemnly for a moment, before grabbing Melinda's hand.

"Don't worry Mommy. I'll take care of you, just like you take care of me."

May couldn't stop the smile that broke across her face as Skye cuddled close.

"I'll be here."

* * *

 ** _Happy Thanksgiving!_**

 ** _Send me a review and tell me what you thought, any prompts, or what you're thankful for :)_**


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